National youth groups name Boulder environmental advocate Xiuhtezcatl Martinez, 13, a top 'changemaker'

By Joe Rubino Camera Staff Writer

Posted:
07/06/2013 08:14:54 PM MDT

Updated:
07/06/2013 09:56:16 PM MDT

Xiuhtezcatl Martinez (courtesy photo)

A 13-year-old environmental activist from Boulder this week was named one of the top 24 "changemakers" under the age of 24 in the country by a national organization dedicated to sharing youth perspectives with the president.

Xiuhtezcatl Martinez, who identifies as an indigenous environmental activist, was named to the list in an announcement made Thursday by the Campaign for a Presidential Youth Council and SparkAction.

The campaign is a bipartisan, youth-led initiative that is pushing for the formation of a council of 16- to 24-year-olds that will advise the president on youth perspectives and work on youth-specific policies. Sparkaction.org is a nonprofit journalism and advocacy network aimed at helping mobilize youth action.

The two groups recognized Xiuhtezcatl and his fellow "changemakers" for their "deep engagement in policymaking and governance," according to a new release issued Thursday.

Xiuhtezcatl was chosen, in part, because of his involvement with Earth Guardians, a Boulder-based nonprofit environmental group focused on youth, through which he has organized more than 35 rallies and action events.

SparkAction also credited him for working with the Boulder City Council to eliminate the use of pesticides in city parks and on the implementation of a fee on disposable shopping bags, as well as for pushing for requirements that companies contain coal ash and other accomplishments.

Xiuhtezcatl, who will start seventh grade at Boulder's Centennial Middle School in the fall, said he intends to use the honor as a springboard to help get his message about taking better care of the Earth out to a larger audience.

"I think it's a very, very great honor. I'm very happy all this great work I've been doing has lead up to something big like this," he said, adding that humanity's attitude that the Earth is something to be owned and exploited has created an environmental crisis that must be addressed. "I believe that, as young people, we have the obligation to do something about it, because our world is at stake."

Xiuhtezcatl said plans are in the works for him and the other changemakers to meet with President Barack Obama, but a date for that meeting has not yet been set.

At 13, Xiuhtezcatl is among the youngest of the 24 people on the list. Other honorees include Dallas-area sixth-grader Janiecia Aubrey, who has made efforts to get more young people involved in community gardening, and 21-year-old Michael Long, who has pushed for more-effective juvenile justice and education policies in his home state of Florida.

"On the Fourth of July, we celebrate the triumph and courage of those who signed the Declaration of Independence and established our democracy. These 24 young people embody the can-do spirit of the founding fathers as they work to keep our democracy strong for generations to come." 19-year-old Alex Wirth, chairman of the Campaign for a Presidential Youth Council, said in a news release.

Xiuhtezcatl earlier this year also received a Presidential Service Volunteer Award from President Obama.